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Brave Companion of the Road

Brooke and I have been together for fourteen years. She has been at my side as youth and vigour have slowly failed us both, and I have nursed her through the ailments that inevitably plague a classy French dame.

After all the years, the dents and the damage, the four times around the earth we have driven together, the overloaded trips to the tip which broke my back and her suspension, she is still willing and eager. Somehow there is no group of people too large, no burden too great for her to carry.

We know the end is nigh, we only travel a few miles together now at the weekends running errands and ferrying the kids. She starts up first time, every time. In deference to the spiders that live in her wing mirrors we don’t drive too fast anymore, but we remember all the speeding tickets.

She’s quite partial to Celine Dion, so for her sake when we are alone together I’ll belt out It’s All Coming Back To Me Now at the top of my lungs and she’ll accompany me with squeaky springs.

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6 thoughts on “Brave Companion of the Road”

Coincidentally, I was just at a car show yesterday, and many of them seemed to carry their own personas. It’s interesting how vehicles seem to take on an essence or presence, and this story captured Brooke’s personality, and “her” owner’s, well.

A bold and still boisterous Peugeot 206 here… good and solid shifter of loads. I remember when I first got her – My wife exclaimed in horror…”A diesel! – How do I drive that?” It didn’t take very long to learn 😉 I think our car is happiest keeping one ear on the news – but the occasional burst of heavy metal helps. She can catch you out – Accelerating once from the junction of the M11 and the M25 towards darkest Essex I trod the pedal like I would have done in the previous petrol Citroen and found us doing 85 up the climb before I’d really clocked what was happening as I was watching the traffic around me! Yes, you brush the pedal with care on a Peugeot 206 HDI 😉

No mid-life crisis – she still does that after 14 years! Just keep her serviced and she keeps on p(l)ugging away :-). I have no idea what I could replace her with as not much fits on our drive. It’s just nice to have all that power in spare as you drive round the local streets – makes her very econimical to drive. And makes you question the car tax system in this country ;-(

Ahh, my L reg Nissan Sunny is due for its MOT on Friday. Each year I think it will be the last. My best workhorse ever. She has some eccentricities, the rev counter simply freewheels or sits at 0, and the door locks play a noisy, impromptu tune anytime (the doors remain unaffected). She listens to full-belt Italian opera for preference.